Metrocom cities among nation's most affordable

Published 4:43 pm, Monday, November 25, 2013

Residents of the Metrocom already know it. Now, the rest of the country does, too.

These 'burbs are among the country's most appealing places to live.

The cities of Cibolo, Schertz and Universal City all cracked the top 10 in a survey of “the most affordable suburbs in America” as ranked by Movoto Real Estate of San Francisco.

Universal City came in at seventh on the Movoto list — the highest of the three San Antonio suburbs — and received kudos for its cost of living, food prices and utilities, all between 9 and 15 percent below national averages.

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“The smallest town in our top 10 at 14,849 residents, Universal City has a ratio of home price to income of 2.27-to-1,” Movoto's blog stated. “The median home price is $129,000 and the median household income is $56,812.”

U.C. Mayor John Williams said the ranking “came as a nice surprise,” but is reflective of the benefits available in a lot of small suburban cities.

“It's very indicative of the livability in this part of the country,” Williams said. “Our homes in U.C. range from the most affordable, all the way to $500,000. It's such a wide range. It's all very affordable housing, when you stop to think about it.”

Kim Turner, U.C.'s development services director, said she's “always felt we have a good city and have a lot to offer.”

She cited housing options, good retail choices and the fact the city “is a good close-knit community” as key strong points for the city.

“I go all over the U.S. traveling, and one of the things I brag about,” she said, “is this area is very affordable, in terms of buying power. You get a lot for the dollar.”

Schertz shared its enthusiasm for the rankings, as the largest of San Antonio's suburbs came in eighth in the “affordable suburbs” ranking.

It was the second time in as many months Schertz was named to an honor roll, having been selected as one of the safest cities in Texas by Safewise, a home security company.

In Safewise's findings, Schertz ranked 28th out of 50 cities with 20,000 or more residents.

“It's exciting to have Schertz listed as one of the 10 most affordable suburban cities in the United States,” said Schertz Mayor Michael Carpenter.

“The best part of this particular recognition is that we have chosen, as a community, to focus on quality of life projects as a core part of who we are and want to be,” Carpenter added. “Schertz residents have access to amenities typically found in larger, more highly-taxed and highly-leveraged cities.”

The Movoto blog listed Schertz with a median home price of $161,000, compared to the median household income of $65,650.

It also credited Schertz for coming in 16 percent and 11 percent below national averages on food and utility costs, respectively.

“The fact that we are able to provide an abundance of both natural and manicured parks, exceptional and abundant sports facilities, a regional library and a rapidly growing job base, all while reducing our property tax rate, makes our affordability all that more remarkable,” Carpenter said.

The city of Cibolo shared in the celebration, as it capped the Metrocom presence on the list, coming in at No. 10.

“This is exciting news for us,” said City Manager Bob Herrera. “The article talked about some of the fine facets of the city.”

The article said Cibolo — with a median home price of $167,100 and median household income of $70,183 — has an affordability ratio of 2.38-to-1.

The city's food costs are 16 percent below the national average, and its utility costs are 11 below the U.S. average.

“We like to think we can offer an improved quality of life for our residents, second to none,” Herrera said, “and we're constantly working to improve that perception.”

He said the rankings reflect well on the entire region, with all three cities in such close proximity.

“Just looking at this region of Texas, it's a place where people want to live in, retire in, go to work in, and move to,” he added.

The blog surveyed 139 suburbs near the 50 largest cities in the country and used seven criteria to measure overall affordability: cost of living; cost of food; cost of utilities; housing affordability, with a ratio of median household income to median home price; property tax rate; state income tax rate; and sales tax rate.